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OREM — During a five-game winning streak of scoring 35 points or more each time, Timpview has shown it has the offense to rank among the best in 5A.
In Wednesday night's defacto Region 7 title bout, the Thunderbirds showed they had the defense, too.
Soakai Aston ran for 41 yards and a touchdown and finished the game at quarterback due to injury, throwing for 101 yards and a late 21-yard touchdown; and a defense led by BYU commit Taani Makasini held Orem to 7 points or less in each quarter en route to a 35-21 win.
"Taani is a playmaker. He's our captain for a reason," Timpview coach Donny Atuaia said of Makasini, who averaged 7.7 tackles per game prior to Wednesday. "It shows. He's been doing that and being an example for the rest of the team all year. For him to be around the ball a lot shows how hard he works.
"I think Feleti is one of the top dogs in the state. I love that kid, and I know he's going to do well at the next level."
Jaron Pula caught five passes for 177 yards for Timpview (6-2, 5-0 Region 7), which opened the scoring with twin brother (and fellow UCLA commit) Kennan Pula's touchdown on the first play of the game that he juggled midstride before rumbling 84 yards for a touchdown.
Orem (8-2, 4-1 Region 7) responded immediately with Feleti Iongi's 56-yard touchdown on the next drive to tie the game.
But that was the longest play from scrimmage Iongi would have on the night as Makasini stayed with him and limited him to 151 yards on the ground.
"The game plan was just to keep them outside the edge, especially Feleti; he's really good," said Makasini, the younger brother of BYU offensive lineman Sonny Makasini. "It worked out well. Sometimes he got out, but the game's not going to go perfect."
After taking a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, Makasini and the Timpview defense shut out Orem's offense in the second and took a 21-7 halftime advantage after Dennis Tua'one's 28-yard touchdown midway through the quarter.
The Thunderbirds also blocked a short field-goal attempt to end the half.
"Those guys are so resilient. They lose a down, but then make a good play. They're just responding to the coaches.
"It was nice to see a few turnovers, but mostly we were just trying to get them out of their rhythm. They (Orem) have some studs as well, especially Feleti and Kaue (Akana)," Atuaia said. "But we did well."
Kai Wesley caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tayden Ka'awa to pull the Tigers as close as 28-21 in the fourth quarter.
But Aston, who started the game at running back and ended it taking snaps under center, sealed the win with a 21-yard strike to Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio with 4:35 and the Thunderbirds' defense did the rest, clinching a sixth-straight win by double digits dating back to last year's playoffs.
"There are definitely higher goals. Region champs, we've been there, done that," Makasini said. "We want a state championship."
Ka'awa threw for 141 yards and a touchdown and ran for 38 more, and Wesley finished with 47 yards on three catches.
